


I Will Always Return

by TheKingofMyths



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Thor: The Dark World, Chubby Thor, Fat Thor, Fix-It, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I mean it's not really discussed much in the first part but he is, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Lots Of Hugging And Kissing, M/M, Reunions, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, and crying, kinda since it could exist in the movie but just not be shown, literally everything i write is happy and this is no exception even if I leave it kinda open, marvel didn't give us the hug scene we needed between thor and loki so i'll provide all the hugs, they cry a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 12:24:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18717037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKingofMyths/pseuds/TheKingofMyths
Summary: It was a bad idea, Thor knew that. He wasn’t supposed to do it, but it was just...too tempting.“Thor, what are you doing? No, no, get back here-” Thor heard Rocket, of course, but he ignored him in favor of walking up to the jail cell, the one he had never dared go to during the time Loki was locked in it, and looked inside.There was his Loki, his brother, alive and...maybe not “well”, but he was safe.___During his trip to the past in Asgard, Thor decides to visit Loki in his cell, instead of passing it by and his actions end up affecting the future, but hopefully for the better.





	I Will Always Return

**Author's Note:**

> As soon as I found out that in EG Thor goes to Asgard in the TDW period and PASSES BY Loki's cell, I knew I had to fix that. Loki probably isn't all too in character and too soft, but I didn't want to write all that angst and I just wanted to let the boys hug it out because tbh they both need hugs.  
> I hope you enjoy!

It was a bad idea, Thor knew that. He wasn’t supposed to do it, but it was just...too tempting.

“Thor, what are you doing? No, no, get back here-” Thor heard Rocket, of course, but he ignored him in favor of walking up to the jail cell, the one he had never dared go to during the time Loki was locked in it, and looked inside.

There was his Loki, his brother, alive and...maybe not “well”, but he was safe.

After he had defeated Loki on earth with the newly made Avengers team and brought Loki back to Asgard, he had never visited Loki’s cell, using the excuse that he was too busy trying to bring peace back to the Nine Realms. The peace that had broken when Loki had destroyed the Bifrost.

But in reality, Thor had been too angry at his brother to even think about Loki, much less visit him (he had a feeling he would’ve just ended fighting with Loki again).

Thor couldn’t help but realize the parallels to then and now.

Because now Thor couldn’t think about Loki these days, but it wasn’t because he was angry at his brother. No, it was because he loved his brother and missed him so much. 

Thor could’ve handled all of his failures over the past few years; Ragnarok, not being able to defeat Thanos and then losing half of his people to the villain...all those he knows he would’ve eventually dealt with and found a way to move on or maybe even make up for his mistakes. Somehow, with Loki by his side, he would’ve found a way.

But all those...on top of losing Loki for the third and final time...

He couldn’t. He couldn’t do it.

There wasn’t a moment sober that his mind didn’t turn to his little brother and their last moments together. There were so many things he regretted, things he wish he could’ve done to prevent Loki’s death.

If only Thor had fought harder, if only he had told Loki to run with the Tesseract, if only he could’ve told Loki how much he loved him instead of telling him how he was the worst brother...if only...

In an entirely hypocritical and very unhealthy way, Thor had turned to drinking to somehow try to forget all the pain that came whenever he thought of Loki. Thor had always loved alcohol, but it was rare for him to get truly drunk. He knew his limit and he had usually tried to never hit it.

But nowadays, he spent most of his time drunk and always had some sort of drink on hand.

This trip into the past was actually one of the few times over the past five years that Thor was somewhat sober and could think more clearly.

Although, “think more clearly” didn’t necessarily translate to “make good decisions”

Before he could stop himself, the barrier separating Loki’s cell from the rest of the prison made an opening for Thor and he stepped inside. It quickly closed behind him and Thor heard a small thunk and could only assume that Rocket had tried to follow him in, rather unsuccessfully, before the barrier closed.

Loki had been laying in his bed, but as soon as Thor had entered, he had sat up and upon seeing Thor, the expression on Loki’s face quickly shifted from shock to anger and finally to confusion.

And suddenly, Thor realized that he had literally no idea what to say or do. All he wanted was to see Loki and maybe try and apologize to him, but...this wasn’t his Loki. This wasn’t the Loki who had given up the Tesseract in exchange for Thor’s life or the Loki who had sacrificed himself so that Thor might have a chance to live.

No, this was the Loki who had been isolated in his jail cell, hadn’t even been allowed at his mother’s funeral and who had a deep hatred for Thor.

Thor was beginning to regret his decision and took a few steps backwards, fully intending to leave before he could make things worse. Maybe Loki hadn’t recognized him, afterall, Thor looked very different-

“...Thor?” 

Thor instantly froze when Loki softly spoke his name, his hopeful tone catching Thor by surprise.

Thor watched as Loki stood up and cautiously approached his brother, while Thor stood there unsure what to do. When he got close enough, Loki raised his hand and slowly reached out to cup the side of Thor’s face in his hand.

Loki let out a shaky breath, whispering, “You’re real.”

Whatever Thor had been expecting, it wasn’t this.

“Loki, I…” Thor started but his voice trailed off. What could he say? There was too much he needed to tell Loki, but he had no idea what was safe to say that wouldn’t affect the future or if Loki would even listen to him. And he had an inkling as to what Loki had meant by “you’re real.”

So, instead of saying anything, Thor did what he’d been wanting to do for the last 5 years and pulled Loki into his arms for a long overdue hug.

He felt Loki instantly wrap his arms around Thor’s back and grip onto his tightly. Then, the tears started.

He heard Loki let out a sob and felt his brother tuck his face into the crook of Thor’s neck, wet tears falling from Loki’s face and onto Thor.

Thor had somewhat successfully been holding in his own tears, but as soon as Loki started, it was like a dam broke and Thor couldn’t stop himself from crying.

Maybe a minute had passed of them tearfully holding each other, neither of them speaking and Thor using that time to try and process his thoughts as he listened to Loki’s shallow breaths in between his sobs (and wasn’t Loki’s breathing such a nice sound after five years, even it was while he was crying?)

Eventually, Thor heard Loki’s breathing even and his sobs die down, although there was still an occasional sniffle. Thor, on the other hand, hadn’t stopped crying and could still feel his tears silently flowing down his face.

“I...know that you’re not my Thor,” Loki spoke so quietly that Thor almost missed what he’d said, but as soon as Thor realized what Loki had admitted, Thor jerked back and loosened his grip on Loki, but didn’t let go of his brother completely.

“You...know…?” Thor looked at his brother’s face, which had become red and splotchy from his tears (and Thor knew he didn’t look any better, even if he had stopped crying after Loki’s confession), and met Loki’s gaze with his own.

Loki let out a laugh (Thor’s felt his heart instantly lighten at the sound he’d missed so much) and raised his arm, wiping his tears with the sleeve of his shirt, his voice still somewhat shaky as he spoke, “It wasn’t t-that hard to figure out, Thor. I may...h-have not seen you in a few m-months, but I doubt even you could get this big or g-grow so much hair...i-in such a short amount of time. So...you’re obviously n-not from this place in time.”

Before Thor could figure out how to reply, Loki reached out and used both of his sleeves to wipe Thor’s own tears from his face. He flinched, but didn’t try to stop Loki as he gently dried Thor’s face. It was then that Thor realized that no one had touched him or treated him with such tenderness and now that it was coming from Loki, it almost caused Thor to cry again. But he held in tears and when Loki was done, he tried to lower his hands, but Thor caught one of them in his own and intertwined their fingers together.

(He couldn’t help but notice how Loki’s hands looked so small and delicate compared to Thor’s much larger hands.)

Thor let out a sigh and turned his gaze to Loki, their eyes meeting each other as Thor spoke the truth, “You’re right, I’m not your Thor.”

“...I assume you’re from the future, but...not very far into the future. How many years? Sixty? Eighty?” Loki probed as he glanced over Thor, probably properly looking his brother over, to try and get clues as to how many years had passed for Thor. Always ever so curious, his Loki was.

“I’m not sure I can tell you,” Thor admitted and sighed, “Loki, when you said ‘you’re real’-”

Loki stopped his inspection of Thor and glanced at him, frowning. “Well...the only person who visits me is Mother-” at the sound of her name, Thor felt himself clench Loki’s hand tighter in his grip. Loki obviously noticed and narrowed his eyes at Thor, obviously suspicious, but continued on. “She’s my only visitor, but even then...it’s just an projection...an illusion of her. If I try to touch her...my hands just fall through her illusion. So when you appeared, I didn’t know if...you were real or not…”

Thor had known that Frigga often visited Loki in his cell during this time (before she...before she couldn’t anymore), but he had always assumed she had come down herself to see him. But now Thor knew the truth; Loki’s only visitor had ever been their mother and even then, he had still been so alone and isolated, lacking the touch of another being for months until Thor broke him out.

And now all of Loki’s goading after Thor had broken him out suddenly made sense...it’s not like Loki could have just asked Thor for a hug and instead he had pushed Thor until he had shoved Loki up against that pillar.

“That’s not all...” Loki’s voice broke Thor out of his thoughts and he gave Loki a curious glance as Loki looked down at their laced fingers, his thumb moving back and forth against Thor’s hand, probably in place of fidgeting his fingers (which Thor had noticed Loki tended to do when he got nervous or anxious).

“What else, Loki?” Thor prompted, bringing up his free hand and placing it on Loki’s neck in that old familiar gesture. He felt Loki lean into Thor’s touch and looked back up at Thor, letting out a sigh.

“I’ve been...casting illusions in here to keep myself...entertained, I suppose. Mother warned me that if I kept staying in my illusions, I might lose my sense on reality and when you appeared...I was afraid that it was true.”

As soon as Loki finished, Thor pulled him into another hug, regrettably letting go of Loki’s hand and wrapping it around his brother’s back, pulling Loki closer to him. “Oh, Loki...I’m so sorry. I promise you, I’m real...I’m here.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Thor realized he had just repeated the words his Loki, back on the Statesmen had said to him when Thor had thought Loki wasn’t real and had just been another illusion.

Funny how their roles were now reversed.

“I know you are and I’m so glad you’re here,” Loki’s spoke into Thor’s chest, his voice slightly muffled. “But...I know you have to go.”

Loki lifted his head from off of Thor’s chest and placed his hand on Thor’s cheek, stroking his beard there and giving Thor a sad smile that broke Thor’s heart. But not as much as Loki’s next words.

“Whatever spell or device you used to come back here...I know you didn’t come just to see me. You have a different mission, don’t you? And you need to get back to that mission before you’re pulled back to your time.”

“I can’t lie to you, Loki, I did come back here for another reason,” Thor admitted, bringing his own hand up and placing it over Loki’s, “But I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see you again. I regret never visiting you in your cell back then and I wish I could’ve just let my anger at you go long enough so I could just come down here and give you a hug or just...talk to you and have an actual conversation because maybe then we could’ve avoided-”

Loki shook his head, silencing Thor. “I...don’t need to know what happens in our future, Thor….I shouldn’t know. Even now, I’m resisting the urge to ask you from how far in the future you’re from and what happened to change your appearance and...why you’re dressed the way you are,” Thor saw a slight blush appear on Loki’s face as he finished off with, “Not that you look unattractive, just...different.”

Thor chuckled, “It’s alright, I know that I’ve let myself go, but thank you...for still considering me attractive.”

“Shut up, you oaf, I’m fairly certain you’re incapable of looking unattractive,” Loki snapped, although there was no venom in it and the blush on his face was still present. He suddenly frowned and pulled his hand away from Thor’s cheek, letting out a resigned sigh, “...You really need to go.”

“I know, I need to go back out there and finish what I came here to do. But before I do, I need to apologize,” Thor gently cupped Loki’s face in hands, making sure their eyes met, “I’m...so sorry for everything, Loki. You’ve always been there for me and come through for me when I needed you, but I was never there for you. Not during our childhood, not when we were adults and especially not the last few years. I’ve been such a horrible brother and I wish things could’ve been different. But now I just want to tell you, that no matter what happens...never doubt that I love you.”

Thor leaned forward and placed a kiss on Loki’s forehead before pulling back. He could see that Loki’s eyes were beginning to shine with unshed tears and wasn’t that surprised when Loki threw himself at Thor, wrapping his arms around Thor in another hug.

“And never doubt that I love you,” Loki repeated, pressing a kiss to Thor’s cheek. They held each other for a moment before Loki eventually pulled away, his tears now freely falling from his eyes. Thor mimicked Loki’s actions from earlier and used his sleeve to try to wipe away Loki’s tears and thankfully, Loki let him.

“I don’t want to leave you,” Thor spoke after he had finished drying Loki’s face.

“Neither do I, but we both know you need to,” Loki sighed, but gave Thor a small smile, “I’m really happy...no...overjoyed that you came to visit me and told me those things, Thor. Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

“It was hard to resist the temptation to visit you, if I’m being honest,” Thor admitted and they both chuckled before Loki turned his gaze towards the edge of his cell, where the barrier was.

“Your friend is still out there, you shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer,” Loki walked towards the barrier and Thor followed behind him.

Thor didn’t even question how Loki could tell that Rocket was still there, even when Thor couldn’t even see him from here. Instead, Thor pulled Loki into one last hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his brother’s head before pulling away.

“Goodbye, Thor. This was...nice,” Loki smiled at him and Thor couldn’t help but grin back at him.

“Goodbye, Loki,” Thor resisted the urge to say I hope to see you soon because while for Loki it was true, Thor’s past self would soon come down and break Loki out….for Thor...he had no Loki waiting for him back in his time period.

But...maybe...he could say something else. Timelines or whatever be damned, he needed to say something.

“Loki...I know about Thanos,” as soon as Thor spoke the Titan’s name, Loki’s eyes widened and Thor could clearly see the terror on Loki’s face. Loki opened his mouth to try and speak, but Thor spoke first.

“Please, Loki...be careful and don’t let him find you and stay safe and out of harm’s way...please,” Thor couldn’t stop the sob that followed, but he did take in a deep breath and somehow managed to hold his tears in.

“I-I won’t, Thor...I-I swear,” Loki promised, a new determined expression set on his face. Thor smiled and let out a sigh of relief that Loki had taken Thor’s warning better than expected.

“Goodbye, Loki and...thank you...for everything,” Thor took one last look at Loki before stepping through the barrier and leaving his brother’s cell, but not before he heard Loki’s farewell.

“Goodbye...brother. I love you.”

\------------------

They had accomplished their mission, the Avengers now had all the Infinity Stones.

But the price for them...Thor wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

Natasha’s sacrifice wasn’t something any of them had been prepared for and it definitely wasn’t fair, but Thor knew that she had done it because she had faith in the rest of them to use the stones and fix the damage Thanos had done with the snap.

To be honest, Thor was still reeling from his visit to Loki’s cell and wondering if somehow his actions had affected the future.

And now he had Natasha’s death on his mind on top of that.

While the other Avengers discussed (aka argued) about what to do next, Thor sat in the background, another beer in his hand, thinking things over and wondering if it was a good idea to get drunk again (it’s not like the Avengers noticed or cared, now that they didn’t need him anymore).

That’s when it happened.

A bright blue flash of light suddenly appeared in the middle of the room and Thor covered his eyes to shield himself from the brightness (his sunglasses could only do so much after all).

When the light had died down a few moments later, Thor slowly lowered his arm from his eyes and instantly dropped his beer at what he saw.

“Holy...shit,” Tony stared in shock and the other Avengers seemed to share the same sentiment because they were all frozen where they stood, staring at the figure that stood where the blue light had just been.

Loki.

He was in different clothes, than what he’d had on the Statesmen, where Thor had last seen him. They looked to be much thinner, but seemed to still be in the same style Loki usually liked the wear and covered him completely in black and green with the occasional gold lining.

Loki’s hair was also different - it was the longest Thor had ever seen it, flowing freely in waves down his back and stopping just above his waist. Thor had always joked or made remarks on how greasy and messy Loki’s hair could get, but it certainly wasn’t now and looked the healthiest it had been in...years.

The thing that stood out most about Loki, though...was that he was in his Jotun form, which Thor had never seen until now. Loki’s skin was no longer pale or smooth, but instead a light blue with raised lines making patterns across his skin. And his eyes...even from the other side of the room, Thor could clearly see Loki’s eyes were a deep red, a stark contrast to the green they were from before.

He was beautiful.

He was Loki.

His Loki.

Thor didn’t know how or why, but he knew that this was his Loki, the one who had died on the Statesmen and given up the Tesseract to Thanos so Thor could live.

Somehow, he’d come back to Thor.

“LOKI!”

Thor stood up, pushing past the Avengers and running over to his brother.

“THOR!” Loki spotted Thor as soon as he’d heard his name being called, and he opened his arms as Thor practically threw himself at Loki, enveloping his brother into his arms and gripping him tightly. He felt Loki do the same, wrapping his arms around Thor’s shoulders and clinging to him, his fingers digging into Thor’s back.

They looked at each for a moment, before Loki suddenly leaned forward and placed his lips on Thor’s in a kiss. It took Thor by surprise, as they’d never done anything like this before and he certainly hadn’t expected it, but it felt...right. He didn’t hesitate and pressed his lips back against Loki’s, deepening the kiss. He moved his arms down Loki’s back and placed his hands on Loki’s ass, pulling his brother closer. Loki seemed to take the hint and lifted his legs, wrapping them around Thor’s waist as Thor gripped Loki’s thighs, lifting him up and holding his brother up against him (Thor couldn’t help but take pride in the fact that he could hold Loki up easily in his arms).

They broke away for a moment and Loki raised his hands, cupping Thor’s face in them and meeting Thor’s gaze with his own ruby red eyes (and now up close, Thor could see how bright and brilliant they truly were). He smiled at Thor, tears beginning to flow down his face.

“Hi, Thor.”

“Oh, norns...Loki...I thought you were truly dead. I thought I’d never see you again,” Thor sobbed, as it seemed he still had some tears to shed, despite all the crying he’d done earlier.

“I know, me too...I was so scared that I’d never find my way back to you...but now...I’m here,” Loki admitted and Thor laughed at Loki’s words, the ones Thor himself had just repeated to Loki’s past self back in his cell. He leaned in for another kiss and Loki seemed to happily oblige, kissing him back and opening his mouth, allowing for Thor to sneak his tongue past Loki’s lips.

“Uhh...not that this isn’t truly touching and I hate to break it up, but I would prefer it if you two don’t fuck in here.”

Tony’s voice broke them out of their little bubble and they instantly broke apart, although there was a strand of spit still connecting their lips to each other as they pulled away (Thor heard a small “gross” from Rocket).

Thor steadily set Loki back onto the ground, but wrapped his hand around Loki’s, not willing to completely let go of his brother quite yet. Loki wiped his face from tears and spit with the sleeve on his free hand and then did the same to Thor (reminding Thor of how he and the Loki from the past had wiped each other’s tears away). Loki leaned into Thor’s side, interlacing their fingers together and they both turned to face the others that were present in the room.

“So...Loki. I heard you were dead. Actually, I heard you were dead twice now,” Tony began, “You wanna explain that? Also where the hell did you come from?”

“To be completely honest, Stark, no I’d rather not explain all of that, but I will tell you that I just arrived here from Jotunheim,” Loki answered back, glaring at Tony. A familiar expression appeared on Loki’s face and he smirked, “Although, there are some things I would like to discuss with my brother in private.”

Before Thor could say, “Loki, no,” there was another blue flash and before he knew it, they were both in another room in the Avengers compound. A bedroom to be more specific.

“Loki, did you really have to do that-” Thor started to chastise him before Loki pushed against Thor’s chest, forcing Thor to walk backwards until his legs hit the edge of the bed and he sat down onto it. Loki immediately climbed onto Thor’s lap and pulled Thor in for another kiss. And Thor wasn’t about to stop Loki from doing that anytime soon.

Eventually, they pulled away from each other, although much more naturally and gradually this time. Then, they just...looked at the each other, taking in their appearance. And suddenly for the first time in years, Thor felt self-conscious of himself. Loki had always been beautiful, but now he seemed truly radiant.

And Thor was...a mess.

“I missed you so much, Thor,” Loki confessed, pulling Thor out of his thoughts.

“Me too...I-I…” Thor hesitated before deciding that it was best to just tell Loki now, “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Everyday, my mind wouldn’t stop replaying those moments on the ship and I just...I couldn’t handle it anymore. I didn’t want to forget you, Loki, I swear, but it was too painful and-”

He broke off with a loud sob and Loki instantly made a soft shh noise followed by, “It’s ok, Thor. It’s ok,” as he pressed light kisses against Thor’s face, until Thor had calmed down somewhat and he didn’t feel like he was about to cry, again.

“I’m sorry, Loki, it’s just...all so much,” Thor admitted, letting out a sigh, “These past five years have been so difficult and now there’s so much going on now, it’s just...a lot.”

Loki chuckled, smiling at Thor, “Oh, I would imagine so. Afterall, didn’t you just have a conversation with me in my cell back on Asgard?”

Honestly, Thor should’ve expected this. He had gone into the past and visited Loki’s past self, not caring about the consequences of the future. And with his Loki’s sudden appearance in the present, he had tried not to think too hard about his trip into the past and what it meant for Loki to appear shortly after it.

But now he supposed he had to think about it and discuss it with Loki.

“Don’t look so worried about it, Thor. If you hadn’t done that, I doubt I’d be here right now,” Loki pressed a kiss to Thor’s cheek and laid his head down on Thor’s shoulder, nuzzling his neck.

“Wait...what do you mean?” Thor questioned, placing his hands on Loki’s waist and slipping them underneath his clothes, feeling Loki’s skin underneath his palms. It was a nice feeling, especially since Thor had always run a little hot himself.

Thor felt Loki kiss his neck softly before lifting his head back up and looking down at Thor, “I mean...after you visited my cell...I could never forget what you had told me. Your words...how I was always there for you and how you loved me...they kept me going many times and made me determined to be there for you, just like you said I had been.”

Loki paused and glanced down, avoiding Thor’s eyes, “And I knew from the way you had acted around me and your warning...that Thanos must have killed me. And I knew I couldn’t let that happen. So I planned for the worst, so that I could come back to you and you wouldn’t have to suffer the pain of losing me, again...although I guess I failed on that.”

“No, no, Loki, you didn’t. You truly didn’t,” Thor reassured him, smiling at him, “You’re here now and you’re alive. I don’t care how long it took, you’re here. You’re here…”

“Yes, I’m here, you oaf and I’m not going anywhere,” Loki agreed and kissed Thor’s forehead, then his nose, then his cheek and then the other one before finally pressing a kiss to Thor’s mouth.

They still had a lot of things to discuss, like what the other had been up to for the last five years (Jotunheim, Loki said he’d been in Jotunheim, Thor’s mind helpfully supplied), how exactly Loki had survived Thanos and what they’d do now with this new romantic side of their relationship. 

And Thor knew they had to eventually go back out and confront the Avengers, as Thor was unsure what their opinion on Loki was. But he knew if worse came to worse, he’d chose Loki over them. Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen and they could work things out with the Avengers. Maybe Loki could even help them decide what to do with the Infinity Stones. Maybe even figure out a way to bring Natasha back.

But for now, it was just him and Loki.

“I love you, Loki,” Thor whispered against Loki’s lips before pressing a kiss to them.

“I love you too, Thor, I always have,” Loki answered back, pulling Thor into another kiss, although a much deeper and heated one.

Thor knew then that he didn’t regret visiting Loki’s cell because now...he had his Loki back and as long as they were together, they could face anything the universe tried to throw at them.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll probably add a second chapter later where it's explained more in detail what Loki was up to and also include smut, but for now this is complete!  
> I hoped you liked it and feel free to comment ^^


End file.
